He just gave him a Bible

Recently, President George W. Bush opened up to Focus on the Family about his conversion. Maybe it’s because of his role as president during the most memorable season of my life, but I found it incredibly interesting. He tells of his experience with the great evangelist Billy Graham who was visiting President Bush (#1) in Maine. As it turns out, the future President Bush was “listening to Billy through the haze of alcohol.”

And then the story gets even more interesting. The greatest evangelist of our time didn’t lead a course on apologetics or use the four spiritual laws or walk the Roman Road, or anything like that. W. Bush recalls that, “Billy and I were talking…And we started talking about religion. And I was obviously looking, yearning for something different with my life.”

And yet Billy Graham didn’t feel prompted to call W. to faith at that time. He didn’t preach at him, judge him, condemn him, or even try to lead him in the sinner’s prayer.

Billy Graham sent a Bible to George W. Bush

And it was in reading Scripture and interacting with the God of the Bible, that George W. Bush came to faith. It wasn’t the result of Billy Graham’s personality, his gifting, or his spiritual guidance. It was his faithfulness to get the Word of God into someone else’s hands.

Our responsibility isn’t to force it. Our responsibility is to provide the context for God to pursue the hearts of men. Sometimes, that means calling people to repentance – others, it will just mean putting the Bible in someone’s hands who wouldn’t read it otherwise.

Who needs to hear the Gospel from you? Who needs you to put a Bible in their hands?

Post navigation

You might also like

4 Comments

“Our responsibility isn’t to force it. Our responsibility is to provide the context for God to pursue the hearts of men. Sometimes, that means calling people to repentance – others, it will just mean putting the Bible in someone’s hands who wouldn’t read it otherwise.”

It’s true Just be faithful in the opportunities that lay before you to serve the Lord and others. Maybe it’s a bible maybe it’s a shoulder to cry on. Maybe it’s the plan of Salvation. If without condemnation and with kindness we are ready in or out of season to give an account for the hope we have within us God is always faithful to bless our testimony of his saving grace and Great great Love for us! Blessings! John Lee